Meet Japan's New Diplomatic Corps

clipped from www.independent.co.uk Foreign envoys come in all shapes and sizes but rarely decked out in miniskirts, schoolgirl uniforms and polka dot dresses adorned with bunny rabbits – until now. The dramatic new look for Japan's diplomatic corps was unveiled by the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday, part of a plan to boost its soft power abroad with what it called "ambassadors of cute". In place of the traditional buttoned-down male bureaucrat, trailing the whiff of stale cigarettes and mild distress, the perfumed power trio of Misako Aoki, Yu Kimura and Shizuka Fujioka were wheeled out for the foreign press. Representing Japan's Lolita, schoolgirl and gyaru (a youth fashion) sub-cultures, the three pop envoys from Japan's manga and animation world will be tested out at cultural festivals in Bangkok and Paris, said the ministry's head of cultural affairs, Tsutomu Nakagawa.

The piece goes on:

"[We] would like to communicate and spread the cuteness [of Japanese fashion] by visiting many countries, and if they would come to like Japan as well." The ministry said the women would spend the next year travelling the world, promoting Japan.

What the hell, it beats giant robots.